Stories.

Every story, newest to oldest.

History

The Submariner, or how Rolex invented a category

Before the 6204, you dove with a watch in spite of itself, not because of it. The story of the reference that created the dive watch as a genre.

Read the story 12 May 2026 · 6 min read

Vintage diver’s watch dial with graduated bezel.

Technique

Beneath the dial: anatomy of an automatic movement

Two hundred parts, four hertz, and the silence of honest mechanics. From mainspring to escapement, a tour of the machine you carry without seeing.

Read the story 4 May 2026 · 7 min read

Macro view of a mechanical automatic movement.

History

Patek Nautilus: five minutes, a napkin, a revolution

Patek Philippe in steel, sold at the price of a gold Calatrava. Forty-eight years on, horology’s riskiest bet remains a benchmark.

Read the story 22 April 2026 · 5 min read

Luxury watch with deep blue dial and integrated steel bracelet.

Portraits

Five independent watchmakers to watch in 2026

Voutilainen, Rexhepi, Petermann-Bédat, MB&F, F.P. Journe: a tour of the workshops where, movement by movement, the future of horology is being written.

Read the story 15 April 2026 · 7 min read

Watchmaker at the bench, loupe to the eye.

Investigations

Tourbillon: horological genius or luxury marketing?

Invented in 1801 to fight gravity in a waistcoat pocket, the tourbillon survives today as a 200,000€ myth. Useful or decorative?

Read the story 3 April 2026 · 6 min read

Rotating tourbillon cage visible on the dial.

History

Seiko 1969: the Japanese watch that saved Swiss horology

On 25 December 1969, Seiko unveiled a watch one hundred times more accurate than anything in existence. Switzerland took fifteen years to realise it had just been saved.

Read the story 26 March 2026 · 6 min read

Vintage Japanese watch with golden dial.

Guides

Buying your first mechanical watch: a reasoned guide, 500 to 3,000 €

Seiko 5, Tissot PRX, Hamilton Khaki, Longines, Tudor. Five tiers, five philosophies, and one rule: buy the one you’ll actually wear every day.

Read the story 10 March 2026 · 8 min read

Several mechanical watches arranged on a leather tray.

Technique

Zaratsu: the Japanese art of polishing that defies the mirror

A forgotten German machine, a mispronounced name, and sixty years later the gesture that separates a real Grand Seiko from any other.

Read the story 28 February 2026 · 5 min read

Textured dial of a Grand Seiko, light play.

Market

Vintage, neo-vintage: where the market is going in 2026

The great vintage tide of the 2010s has receded. What it leaves behind sketches a polarised market, and one more demanding than ever about authenticity.

Read the story 14 February 2026 · 7 min read

Stories.

All stories

The Submariner, or how Rolex invented a category

Beneath the dial: anatomy of an automatic movement

Patek Nautilus: five minutes, a napkin, a revolution

Five independent watchmakers to watch in 2026

Tourbillon: horological genius or luxury marketing?

Seiko 1969: the Japanese watch that saved Swiss horology

Buying your first mechanical watch: a reasoned guide, 500 to 3,000 €

Zaratsu: the Japanese art of polishing that defies the mirror

Vintage, neo-vintage: where the market is going in 2026